Interfaces are instrumental in processes in biology, engineering, production, and environmental systems. The chemical and physical properties of phase-partitioned interfaces are known to be different from those of their underlying bulk phases, and drastically different when considering the curved surface of aerosol droplets &lt;100 nm in diameter. Using the interface-specific techniques of vibrational sum frequency scattering (VSFS) and vibrational sum frequency generation (VSFG) spectroscopies, we are able to directly observe the vibrational characteristics of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at the highly curved gas/aerosol particle and planar air/liquid interfaces, respectively. Studying the concentration-dependent interfacial activities of DMSO at these previously assumed analogous interfaces shows a stark difference in surface partitioning rates. Employing DMSO as a proxy for the environmentally relevant dimethyl sulfide, DMS, these findings offer interesting implications for marine aerosols and their processes in the atmosphere. Furthermore, we offer a quantitative comparison of the VSFS and VSFG techniques which provides insights into future works aiming to observe the interface of a single aerosol particle in situ.

Quantitative analysis of the adsorption of DMSO to the gas/aerosol particle and air/liquid interfaces

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.